The practice of sharing syringes without adequate sterilization between successive users is a major contributor to the transfer of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis with subsequent severe repercussions for the sufferer and at a high cost to society for supporting and providing medical attention to sufferers. Furthermore, health professionals may be exposed to used syringes which can lead to inadvertent needlestick injuries and possible exposure to infective pathogens or other contaminants.
Additionally, today's healthcare practitioner is usually provided with medical devices that are ready to use since the devices are typically sterilized during manufacture. This is particularly true of syringes that are used to administer parenteral drugs and other medical solutions.
A syringe typically includes a glass or plastic barrel having a substantially closed end and an opposite open end. The open end is sealed by a slidable piston plunger. The substantially closed end of the syringe may have a dispensing port communicating with a fitment, such as a male luer fitment, for dispensing the contents of the syringe. The syringe as manufactured may be prefilled with a liquid, part-filled with a lyophilized powder, or empty, for example. A removable end cover or cap, such as a luer cap, is placed over the fitment during manufacture so as to seal the contents within the barrel. Thus, the end cap remains sealingly in place from manufacture until the syringe is used.
The packaging of syringes may require larger dimensions than necessary or desirable, because the dimensions of such syringes for operation may be larger than the desired packaged dimensions. When packaging syringes to be shipped or stored, it is important to conserve packing space to increase the number of prefilled syringes shipped per package.